Following weeks of cold, wet spring weather, it appeared at one point that the table grape harvest in California's San Joaquin Valley would start at least two weeks later than normal, and some growers had predicted start dates as much as three weeks late. But warm and sometimes extremely hot weather over the past two months has changed all that, as timing has generally returned to within three or four days of normal, and reliable supplies of fresh grapes in promotable volume are now available. As recently as mid-June, several California grape growers told The Produce News that they expected to

Glory Foods in Columbus, OH, a category leader in Southern-style heat-and-serve products, recently announced the promotion of Lisa Cliff-Burk to vice president of sales. Ms. Cliff-Burk has been with Glory Foods since its inception in 1992 and had previously served as national sales director. As vice president of sales, Ms. Cliff-Burk is responsible for maintaining and growing Glory's full line of products nationally. She has been charged with spearheading continued sales growth of Glory's fresh-cut bagged division as well as the savory frozen and traditional canned lines. Under her guidance,

Before federal officials asked the tomato industry to better educate businesses on food safety, the North American Tomato Trade Work Group had started working on new safety guidelines for the handling of tomatoes in the field, greenhouse, packinghouses and throughout the food supply chain. Now the group formed to harmonize tomato-handling practices in North America has distributed more than 200 copies of the new guidelines, Commodity Specific Food Safety Guidelines for the Fresh Tomato Supply Chain, to growers and shippers. In fact, the second edition that incorporates the latest food safety

Dennis Gertmenian, the founder and chairman of the board of Ready Pac, has returned as its chief executive officer, a position he left almost three years ago. Mr. Gertmenian told The Produce News that he is once again in this position simply because he was elected to the position by the Ready Pac board of directors. "The board felt that I was the best person to lead the company to the next level," he said. At the same time, the board accepted the resignation of Larry Kern, the previous president and chief executive officer, who, according to Ready Pac, elected to take an early retirement (The

From 2 million to 6 million Florida-produced oranges may remain on citrus trees in the state in the coming year because of the current labor situation, according to Liz Compton, spokesperson for the Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services. "It looks as though it could be a very tight situation as we head into the 2005-06 season." Ms. Compton explained that migrant workers are fearful of recent immigration talks in Washington, DC. Many have returned to their native countries for the time being, fearful of losing the right to work in the United States in the future. Many of those

MONTEREY, CA -- In taking stock of the effectiveness of the Produce Marketing Association at its foodservice expo's 25-year mark, PMA President Bryan Silbermann said that the organization is enjoying record membership, event attendance and hits to its web site. PMA's "Heart and Soul" campaign has been effective and resonates with PMA's members, Mr. Silbermann said. The campaign "emphasizes the fact that in this business, people matter a lot more," he said. The "globalization piece" is coming on with more international representation on its boards from buyers in other countries, Mr. Silbermann